‘GST for meth’: ED says Myanmar cartel turned Indians’ tax IDs to build drug supply chain

ED’s first-ever raids along the India–Myanmar border have uncovered a meth network that allegedly “misused” Indians’ GST credentials to buy drug chemicals and launder money

The Enforcement Directorate has uncovered a cross-border narcotics network in which Myanmarese nationals allegedly misused the GST credentials of Indian citizens to buy chemicals used in drug manufacturing, according to a PTI report.

The agency said evidence from recent searches shows Indians procured Pseudoephedrine tablets and Caffeine Anhydrous on behalf of Myanmar-based traffickers, enabling large-scale methamphetamine production and laundering of proceeds across states.

The findings came after the ED conducted its first-ever searches along the India–Myanmar border on November 27 in a money-laundering probe linked to a Mizoram Police case involving the seizure of 4.72 kg of heroin worth Rs 1.41 crore.

Why now?

The raids were triggered by a Mizoram Police FIR and escalating concerns over rising methamphetamine production in Myanmar and smuggling through India’s porous 1,643-km border, which has become a key transit corridor.

During searches across Aizawl and Champhai in Mizoram, Sribhumi (Karimganj) in Assam, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, investigators seized Rs 46.7 lakh in cash, froze 21 bank accounts, and recovered documents allegedly linking Indian intermediaries to Myanmar-based buyers, PTI reported.

The agency said evidence indicated that Myanmarese nationals 'misused' GST credentials of Indians to source raw materials and route payments, while local operatives handled procurement and transport, enabling a full supply chain for methamphetamine production.

The ED added that the network had financial, logistical and smuggling links across multiple Indian states, with hawala operators playing a key role in moving cash and laundering profits from the narcotics trade.

The case marks one of the ED’s most significant actions in the Northeast since India tightened surveillance along the Myanmar border amid repeated narcotics seizures tied to organised crime groups operating from the Chin and Sagaing regions.

The ED is expected to expand its investigation across supply networks and financial intermediaries, with further summons and attachments likely as the money trail is mapped across states.